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Da Cunha set to start at San Siro to replace injured Tchouaméni

Absent from Zinédine Zidane's first squad, Aurélien Tchouaméni will also miss November's fixtures. Lucas Da Cunha, the revelation of the Zidane era, is expected to start in the XI against Italy at San Siro.

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Da Cunha set to start at San Siro to replace injured Tchouaméni
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Lucas Da Cunha is set to earn another start with the France team on Thursday at San Siro against Italy, in the absence of Aurélien Tchouaméni, who has been forced to withdraw from this November gathering.

The Como captain was one of the surprises from Zinédine Zidane’s first squad, having been deployed in a deep midfield role during both matches against Belgium and Italy, acting as a distributor. With Tchouaméni’s withdrawal — questions about his integration into the Zidane system are now postponed until March — Da Cunha is expected to line up alongside Adrien Rabiot and Rayan Cherki in the starting XI.

The cascade of withdrawals this November forces the manager to work with a squad substantially similar to that of September-October. Maghnes Akliouche is absent, Manu Koné as well, but Warren Zaïre-Emery is making his return and Eduardo Camavinga remains available. These two options provide depth to a midfield that should rotate, with the match against Turkey allowing playing time to be distributed across the entire squad.

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